One of the biggest bummers for International buyers is excessive shipping charges. I don’t tack on any handling charges, but the cost of getting a Medium Flat Rate box overseas can get up to 70$, and I can’t blame potential customers for opting out when it gets to checkout time. One of my customers asked me to make up a “small kit” of 8 OZ bottles with all four of the Recommended oils, so that he could take advantage of the cheaper shipping price. The end result was a savings of 45$ on shipping! Bottom line: This is too good a deal to be a one-off deal, so its here to stay. Now there is a new product (called ABC Lite) that is the Recommended Oils in a smaller package that ships for about a third of the regular ABC lube pack. I hope that helps some; I wish I had come up with the idea myself.

http://bluechipmachineshop.com/bc_blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/BCMS-Logo.png00mickhttp://bluechipmachineshop.com/bc_blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/BCMS-Logo.pngmick2015-11-17 22:24:572015-11-17 22:44:01Good News for International Customers on Shipping Charges

For a while now, I’ve been thinking I need a dedicated shop truck. About four years ago I sold my 57 Chevy pick up, and regretted it almost immediately. My S-10 is not really up to the task of hauling a trailer with any weight in it, and while thats not the primary need I have, it is a consideration. I found this 1955 Chevrolet 3100 1/2 ton pick up in a “local” (10 hours away) Craigslist ad in Augusta Georgia. A few emails and phone calls later; I’m the new owner.

One of the most frequent question I get from my customers is if I carry Roy Dean DE-112 grease (as specified in the SBL Lube Chart). This chart dates back to when cars had running boards, and some of the lube requirements are somewhat out-of-date. the Roy Dean grease IS still available through Steve Wells @ the SBL workshop at www.wswells.com, and Steve Brooks at stevewb on Ebay. These guys have THE LAST remaining inventory of the Roy Dean grease, and have told me when its gone, there won’t be another production run. Get some now, if you want it! This led me to look around for a modern alternative, and I have come up with a reasonable substitute. But lets look at the history of Roy Dean grease first:

Another Chesapeake Area Metalworking Society Yard Sale is in the can, we were blessed with beautiful weather, and a good time was had by all. Thanks go out to all Steve’s minions, who do the behind-the-scenes work to make it happen for the past 15 years (as of today).
I arrived about an hour late, and found some very brisk trading going on in the vendor area. A very helpful gentleman in suspenders found me a nice spot to set up my table and within ten minutes everything of real value on my table was gone, and I got an opportunity to make a quick run around and see what the other guys had brought. I shot a few pics, but seemed to only get shots of one side of the mall (I get distracted easily). I did manage to get myself some of the items on my shopping list (but not all), and a few freebies. I had also promised to deliver a few items to the Yard Sale, and had arranged to take delivery of a few pre-sale items. I suspect that my truck weighed about the same going out as it did coming in. Here are some pics, for those who could not attend.

This is one of those projects thats been hanging around forever. I got this Johnson Gas Furnace at the CAMS Yard Sale a couple of years ago; it was lounging on Steve’s front porch- a freebee that someone never picked up. I jumped at the chance to get it; I had been wanting to explore the world of gas forging for a while (didn’t have too much luck with coal). The lid was cracked in about four pieces (the lifting ring had rotted through), and the gas regulator was missing. I looked into getting the gas rig for it, and quickly found out that a replacement would be upwards of a thousand bucks. Time to get inventive.